Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-17
THE COOLEST COUNTRY.
WHAT LIEUT.. SCHEUTZE SAYS OF
THE LENA DELTA COUNTRY.

was sent to the l. ma delta in northwestern
Siberia to deliver to the natives gifts from
the government Of the United States to repay
them for the aid hey rendered him in hi:
search for the missing members OF the Jean
nette party, says in his report that the town
| Of Verovusk, Siberia, is the coolest inhabited
spot in the world. The thermometer stood al
| eighty six below zero when he was there, ana
/ he says it seldom goes above fifty below.
esked him the other day what the people did
| who lived at this bii sful spot; what they had
| 70 eat and how they liked it.
SWhy," he replied, 'they think it is pretty
| good sort Of climate. Home, Sweet Home,
Is the song all the world over, and il the Yer
ovusl,ers should cone here they would won.
der what people did where it is SO internally
hot They would smother in this climate,
and pine for stiff l:orthwesterly arctic gale.
1t is wonderful the amount Of cold human
flesh can endure. The natives of Terra del
Fuego go stark naked the year round, and III
their country it freezes every night. It is
much colder in the Lena delta, yet the PEG
pie manage to keep comfortable, and more
die Of smallpox and scurvy than from the
effects of the intense cold You seldom hear
Of any one freezing to death, and then it is
those only who expose themselves impru-
IDENTIFY who die in that way. More people
are frozen to death in the United States than
in Siberia.
HOW TO KEEP WARN
3But how do they manage to keep warmF'
&Well, in the first place the Yakuts are an
enduring race and are born in that climate
Then they dress in furs, and have learned
from their ancestors, or from their own ex-
perience, how to keep warm. Their houses
are built Of logs, smeared over on the outside
and inside with manure and mud. In each
cabin is large fireplace, which Is used foI
both heatu1e and cooking. There Is seldom
more than ono .oorc in these cabins, and
usually the owners c4trlt, if he has any, oc-
cupy one end Of the room in which he lives,
being tied, or prevented from trampling on
the babies by bar. The houses are COM
monty very comfortable, but are awfully
dirty, and smell-there is no word to describe
it. Often, until I got used to it, would
rather lie down in the snow outside, with the
thermometer fifty below zero, than sleep in
one of these huts. But you've no idea what
O man can stand when he has to-"
-Have they windows in their houses"
ayes; ice windows. They use ice as we use
six inches thick, morticed in the window
opening in blocks two feet, and sometimes as
large as four feet square. and with water Is
made solid The water is as good as putty.
When the window becomes dirty they scrape
it Off with a knife, and when 1t has been
scraped thin they substitute new pane"
doesn't the window ever melt!"
GBless you, no; it is freezing cold that for
from the fire. If the room ever got warm
enough to melt the ice the Yakut couldn't
live in it, and would have to so out doors to
cool off, Atnight the fire is allowed to 60
out, as they have to economic in fuel. AL
they have is drift wood, gathered on the banks
q: the Lena river in the summer time"
allow do they sleep9 Do they undress when
they 60 to bed?"
always They strip to their shirts, which
are made of thick sort Of Russian cloth as
heavy as our canvas The men and women
wear the same kind of garments, and never
have moro than one at time. took up
lot Of thick flannel for them, enough to last
the rest of their lives, and it will be great
deal more comfortable than the native stuff,
although they don't like it at first. When
they undress they get into hunks built in the
side of the house-sometimes a man, his
wife and all his children in the same bunk
They have reindeer skins under and over
them, and curtains of the same hanging be
fore the hunks. The last man or woman to
undress hangs all the clothing of the rest
out doors over a pole that is kept for the
purpose"
GETTING RID OF vERMIN.
"What is that for!'
"To freeze the lice. They couldn't live II
they didn't do it, and it has become national
custom. The lice get into the fur and that
Is the only way to get them out. By hang
ing their clothes over the pole every night
they can keep reasonably free from them, but
the fur fills up again the next day"
"Do they ever bathea"
"Never In their lives; they haven't any
word for bathing in their language, and the
Jility of keeping clean is one of the
greatest hardships of Arctic life"
"What do they eatT
"Reindoer meat, beef-they have cows,
queer looking animals, about half as large as
ours, with a hummock ON their backs like q
bread made Of black rye -four,
tea, and imported food made Of chopped beef
rolled into balls about the size Of marble,
and covered with dough. These they pound
up and make into soup. Then there Is wood
that is very nutritious when It is ground ur
and boiled Mixed with reindeeG meat it
makes good soup. They often eat their fish
raw. OF course they freeze solid as soon
IS they are taken out Of the water, and
The native, particularly if he is on the
road, cuts them off in shavings as thin as our |
Clipped beef and eats them raw. They are |
palatable, ard have lived for days at time |
On them, with cup Of tea made over an al |
,ohol lamp by way Of variety. The greatest
luxury they have is butter, and they will eat |
it by the pound as our people eat confection-
Dry. A poor sort Of butter is made from the |
milk of the native COW, that looks and tastes |
more like cheese. and they prize it above all
other classes Of food"
"The amount of butter a native will eat |
when he can get it," continued Lieut. |
Scheutze, sis astonishing. A friend of mine
n Siberia told ME Of man who ate thirty |
ix pounds in one day, and then didn't get all /
10 wanted They have a way OF pounding
I'D a red Jerry and mixing it with butter,
which gives it beautiful pink tint and i'm
proves the flavor Their drink is tue Russian
7odka, almost pure alcohol, and they viii
rade their shirts for it. The liquor is scarce
md expensive, 50 they are necessarily tenn
,erate people. Percy Drummond in Chicago
inter- Ocean.
Too Young to Tell the Time.
A young man recently returned home to
lis faithful and wakeful spouse 50 near day
freak that you might call it early in the
morning
@s-l<% I